Tuesday, 5 January 2016

Nowadays testers
have to perform both functional and non-functional testingto assess all
aspects of a software application effectively.
As a type of non-functional testing, security testing is performed to
check if the application is vulnerable to security attacks and effective in
protecting information and maintain functionality in case of malware attacks.
But the testers need adequate skills, experience and domain expertise to
effectively check if the application is 100% secure. Many enterprises prefer hiring
certified security testing professionals to identify and eliminate critical
security threats. A business can always reap a number of benefits by hiring a
certified security tester.

5 Reasons
Why Businesses Must Hire Certified Security Testers

1) Skill and Experience Level

Normally,
security testing certifications can be divided into three broad categories,
i.e., entry level, intermediate level, and expert level. Each tester must meet
certain requirements to obtain the specific certification. For instance, the
tester must know security principles, best practices, test automation tools,
and latest technology to obtain entry-level security testing certification.
Likewise, he must have adequate security testing knowledge and experience to
obtain more advanced certifications. So you can easily determine the tester’s
experience, expertise and domain knowledge based on the certification.

2) Comprehensive Training

Each tester
further needs to go through a comprehensive credentialing process. As part of
the process, he has to undergo a detailed training program that covers all
aspects of software security features and testing. Also, the professional has
to pass the final examination to obtain the cyber security certification. So
the certification indicates that the tester has learned all aspect of security testing, and obtained the certification by clearing the final test. The
training and knowledge make the certified security testers score over other
software testing professionals.

3) Up-to-Date Knowledge

The tester is further required to renew the
cyber security certification at regular intervals. Normally, the cyber security
certification must be renewed every 3 to 4 years. The tester has to pass a
current test to renew his credentials. So it becomes essential for testers to
keep their knowledge up-to-date and earn education credits continuously to
renew the security testing certification successfully. You can always expect
the certified security testers to know the latest trends, tools and best
practices in software security testing.

4) Ability to think like a Hacker

Nowadays,
programmers have to address security issues and threats without any delay. So
the security testers have to collaborate with the developers consistently to
get the security problems fixed as they occur. The certification helps testers
to analyze the evolving security threats with the mindset of a hacker. They can
further assess the security features of the application during development to
eliminate security threats in future. The testers can further perform security
tests during various phases of development to identify and eliminate the
weaknesses that increases the application’s vulnerability to evolving security
threats.

5) In-depth Understanding of Tools used by Cyber
Criminals

Nowadays cyber
criminals use a variety of advanced tools to attack software applications. The
testers must be familiar with the tools used by hackers to effectively
eliminate the security threats. The certification program will help testers to
understand the tools and techniques used by programmers for criminal purposes.
So they can easily identify the source of the security threat, and suggest the
best way to eliminate the security threat or prevent the security attack. They further need to keep track of the latest
trends in security testing as part of the certification renewal process.

While
outsourcing software testing, each business needs to check a testing service
provider deploys certified security testers. It needs to ensure that the
security testing is performed by a certified and experienced tester to enhance
the software’s reliability and integrity by eliminating all security threats.